Brussels, 11 September 2024
The EU achieved the greenest power generation mix last July, what happened since then? Let’s take a look:
SHIFTING POWER GENERATION: Higher power demand for cooling and lower hydropower generation due to high temperatures caused a decrease in renewable power generation and an increase in gas. Italy was the starkest example with gas rising from 28% to 43% between June and August.
HIGHER PRICES: More gas in the mix translated into higher electricity prices in August. Since April, EU wholesale electricity prices kept rising with day-ahead prices – which had neared pre-crisis levels in April – returning to August 2023 levels.
During the holiday season, prices spiked occurred due to increased summer demand, rising gas prices, and lower cross-border flows. The latter caused big difference in prices across EU countries:
- Nordic countries averaged under €20/MWh,
- Central and Western Europe between €60-80/MWh, and
- Southern and Eastern Europe above €100/MWh.
LOWER CROSS-BORDER FLOWS. Drop in cross-border flows from France – Europe’s top exporter country – partially explains the price disparity. France has reduced power exports after the French TSO announced they would limit cross border exchange due to grid and transit flow issues.
Such events underscore once more the importance of the EU internal electricity market. EU countries must be better interconnected and safeguard the integration of the EU energy market.
CO2 INTENSITY RISING: CO2 intensity in the power sector rose in August compared to July. The trend, however, was uneven across members. Nine countries saw their emissions decline with Bulgaria recording the largest decrease thanks to higher nuclear generation. Conversely, Slovenia and Italy experienced the largest increases due to reduced hydro power and higher gas power generation, respectively. Nonetheless, the overall power generation mix in August remained cleaner than in 2023 and the cleanest on record with an estimated CO2 intensity of 163 gCO2/kWh.
Geopolitical tensions, including the Middle East conflict and concerns over supply disruptions at the Russian-Ukrainian border, have driven gas prices up. This underscores the importance of continuing our effort to lower the EU dependence on fossil fuels imports and double down on homegrown clean and renewable electricity.
This data and more can be accessed on Eurelectric’s electricity data platform ELDA.
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Source – Eurelectric by email